swiss

Art du Temps Is Coolest Wall Clock Ever

First let me say that this wall clock is all Swiss made and all mechanical. See the video after the bump and you'll get a preview of how is amazing clock will function. While quite pricey, this clock is not just a concept, it will be made and available for purchase.

Designed by illi and Julien Ado for another firm called designby8, the Art du Temps starts with a rectangular board with a lot of "articulating" squares on it. When in passive mode, some of these squares randomly move up and down "beating" to indicate the passing of the seconds. To see the time you "ask" it to show the time. I think this can be done remotely, or via voice command. Then, in a science fiction like ballet, the squares move around, out of the way to display a digital clock, but one that uses physical pieces. This is called "mechanical digital hours."

How much will it cost? Around 90,000 Swiss Francs, and orders will start to be taken in March 2011, with delivery of the first pieces expected in the fall/winter of 2011. Now watch the video below.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: art du temps, clock, illi, mechanical, squares, swiss

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Artya Halloween Spider Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Aiming to shock and be provacative, artful Swiss watch maker of (only) unique timepieces has made a few watches for Halloween. A few of them contain actual spiders in the dials. Not living spiders, but eerie enough. The typical look of Artya's "tortured" watch cases add to the fearfulness of these watches. Artya prefers "defacing" its cases with electro shocks. You can see the large spider body on the dial. The brand chose thin hands for the dial that are reminiscent of arachnid legs. The decomposing organic look of the watch adds to the holiday creepiness factor. Plus, the strap is made from toad skin. Case is steel (about 45mm wide I think), and inside is a Swiss automatic movement.

In addition to this Halloween Spider watch, the brand also has a few other piece uniques for the Halloween holiday includes some with dials featuring scary skulls, and screaming faces. Priced at 3,900 Swiss Francs.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: artya, halloween, spider, Swiss, watch

Hublot Big Bang Polo de Paris Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

I am amazed at just how many events the Big Bang watch can have a special, limited edition version of, and still seem to make sense. Whether it is music, culture, auto racing, or here, Polo, the Big Bang collection has a limited edition watch for the occasion. While no design is that versatile, Hublot seems to pull it off with their ability to be everywhere, all the time from a brand image standpoint.

The watch here started as a record, where a game of Polo had a team getting 80 goals, in an event sponsored by Hublot. Called the "Hublot, Perfect Polo Match," this statement is placed on the back of the as an image on the sapphire exhibition crystal. The "Paris" part of the watch name has to do with the fact that the commemorative match took place in Paris. Hublot is a sponsor of the Swiss Polo team, as part of the Polo Gold Cup Gstaad, and reaffirms their dedication to the sport. This makes polo fans happy I am sure, as well as players on the Swiss team who are pretty happy to each be getting on of these limited edition watches.

It has a 44.5mm case made of titanium and ceramic in all black tones that Hublot is famous for as well as a vertically textured rubber strap. Movement is the HUB44 automatic chronograph. One thing confuses me, so don't let it confuse you. There are two versions of the images of this watch. One with a subsidiary seconds dial at 9 o'clock, and one as seen here without. Another curio of the watch world... Look out for more Hublot polo themed limited edition watches in the future.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: big bang, hublot, paris, polo, swiss, watch

What Is Luxury Health Care? A Visit To Switzerland's Clinique La Prairie

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Spas, Lux Tips

Luxury health care? You don't hear the term very often. From a social perspective it is a bit of a tricky concept. To imply that some types of health care and medical treatments are 'excessive' and for the well-to-do only seems to contrast with the humanitarian concepts of treating the ill or injured. In fact, luxury heath care has been around for eons. The tonics a king would drinks, the ointments of an emperor. Things not necessarily meant to cure, but enhance or enliven.

Today luxury health care often falls under the category of "elective procedures." A rather tedious concept probably coined by insurance companies. It implies that you don't need it, or rather that the patient, versus the doctor is prescribing the treatment or procedure. We often look down upon things like cosmetic surgery publicly - although it is so much a common practice world wide. So back to the initial question - are such 'elective procedures' all that is encompassed under the umbrella of luxury health care? No. In fact luxury health care is probably what health care should be in an ideal world. Proper attention, good doctors, and the time taken to properly diagnose and treat, whatever the problem may be - whether it is necessary to sustain life, or elective to enhance it.

I travel to Switzerland and visit the Clinique La Prairie (CLP) to see if I can answer my question about luxury and health care. The Clinique is a rather famous (if you swing in the right circles) "wellness center" that has been around for about 80 years. Located right on Lake Geneva in Montreux Switzerland, CLP is nestled away in a small, but highly desirable location near France. The beginnings of the Clinique are rather retro sci-fi in concept. I will let CLP give you its full history, but a doctor had an interesting idea of injecting people with young organ cells collected from sheep. The theory was that these early organ cells would stimulate cellular rejuvenation and offer a series of "wellness" benefits meant to make you feel younger and stimulate the immune system. Sounds a bit mad scientist-ish, but people much more picky than I swear by it.

Tags: care, Clinique La Prairie, CLP, health, luxury, medical, review, swiss, switzerland

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Ladoire Roller Guardian Time Punk Rock Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Newer "cool & pricey" watch brand Ladoire Geneve has a new ultra limited edition watch - the RGT (Roller Guardian Time) Punk Rock Limited Edition watch. It will come in a set of just three pieces. Started in 2007, the brand headed by namesake Lionel Ladoire, makes less than 50 watches a year. Last year it was just 38 pieces I believe. Even with such limited production the brand has recently been injected with some serious outside funding to expand as sales are good, and almost as important - interest in the brand is high.

I met with Lionel Ladoire in January at the Geneva Time Exhibition. While he personally makes a lot of the components of the Ladoire watches, he is far from the typical watch maker. The timepiece design and naming of it are really an extension of his personality. A young, almost counter-culture looking guy, you'd expect to see him at a concert as opposed to sitting at a watch maker's bench. After meeting him, things like the "Punk Rock" part of this watch's name, or the spider web engraving on one of the discs in the watch start to make sense. In the image gallery you can see two images I took myself of his watches. A good guy overall, I look forward to seeing what his talents come up with next.

Gallery: Ladoire Roller Guardian Time watches

Tags: Ladoire, limited edition, LimitedEdition, Punk Rock, PunkRock, RGT, Roller Guardian Time, RollerGuardianTime, Swiss, watch

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Girard Perregaux Laureato Quartz Limited Edition Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Think you know high-end quartz? This is high-end quartz. Girard Perregaux wasn't the first to make a quartz watch, but they were among the first Swiss brands to have a quartz watch. In 1970, one year after the quartz watch was initially released by Seiko, Girard Perregaux helped set the quartz movement frequency standard at 32.768 hertz. This is still used today by most quartz watches, and promoted on the dial of this new limited edition Laureato Quartz watch.

Inside the the watch with its familiar Girard Perregaux sporty octagon dial shape is a hand-assembled caliber GP13500 quartz movement that is probably the nicest decorated quartz movement out there. You can see it through the sapphire caseback window, note the gold cap over the battery compartment. The watch box is a cool retro space presentation box, but the real allure of this watch is as a testament to the quartz watch revolution. At first I was skeptical about who might spend this type of money on a quartz watch, but then again I realized that a good many collectors love this type of thing. At the same time, the watch is super accurate and easy to love. It is very readable, with an attractive high quality dial. The case and bracelet are in steel and very well made. So while I though initially the 40 of these watches might be too many, now I realize it is really not enough. Price will be a bit over $11,000 for this very rare type of high-end Swiss quartz watch.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Girard Perregaux Laureato Quartz

Tags: Girard Perregaux, GirardPerregaux, Laureato, limited edition, LimitedEdition, Quartz, SIHH, swiss, watch

Teuscher: Truffles are Its Speciality

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Dining

On a blustery day in the Alps some 70 years ago, a curious man was thinking differently about chocolate. That man, Dolf Teuscher, soon launched a chocolate company of the same name. Nearly a century later, Teuscher is one of the world's finest chocolatiers – and a Luxist nominee in the best truffles category.

Dolf Teuscher founded the company in 1932, wandering far from his Alpine roots to comb the globe for the best cocoa, marzipan, fruits and nuts. Over years of experimentation, he developed the distinctive recipes that have brought Teuscher to the pinnacle of the chocolate world today.

Dolf's son, Dolf Teuscher, Jr., now oversees an international confectionary empire with stores in major cities from New York to Qatar to Singapore. Its kitchens in Zurich make over 100 varieties of chocolates using the original recipes and fly them to stores across the globe; all products are free of chemicals, additives and preservatives.

Tags: awards-main, best chocolate, best truffles, BestChocolate, BestTruffles, chocolate, luxist-awards, sweets-main, swiss, teuscher, teuscher chocolates, TeuscherChocolates, truffle

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Quinting "Mysterious" Watches Hands-On

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

One of the most interesting watch movements around is made by Swiss Quinting. It is a quartz movement that is barely visible. Look at the watch and you just won't get how it works. The dials are totally transparent and you can see right through them as the hands of the watch seem to float in space. Quinting makes the movements and the watches. The movements are quartz based and actually fitted inside the watch around the dial in the case. It uses a series of motors that move sapphire crystals that the hands are attached to. Complex models like the Chronograph use many, totally parallel sapphire discs to achieve the functionality. The design is flawless and the engineering is very clever.

I got to handle the watches at the Geneva Time Exhibition in January. They had their diverse line up of models in various case sizes and tones. Some of them are richly decorated in diamonds and are in gold. The watches typically aren't too little, but rather come in healthy sizes (for men and women). You really get an appreciation for how difficult it was to make the watches when you wear them. Seeing your wrist through the watch without any gears or pieces really goes to the heart of the "Mysterious" part of the name. Their new watch for 2010 uses an interesting set of two discs that have "spokes" on them. These turn in opposite directions and help regulate each other in terms of the watch accuracy. What it means for you is a cool looking dial that is constantly moving. Quinting also makes movements for other brands that want to showcase their technology. For example they produced a watch for Dior that I discussed here. Prices for these watch is pretty expensive for a quartz movement, but they have the craftsmanship of a nicer mechanical watch. I'd say the prices for non jewelery versions are typically in the $5,000 - $10,000 range.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Quinting watches

Tags: high-end quartz, High-endQuartz, movement, quinting, sapphire, Swiss, transparent, watch

Movement Shock: BNB Concept To Declare Bankruptcy

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Shocking news in the world of watch movements as BNB Concept looks like it is going to close its doors. The highly respected complex watch movement maker looked like a star of the independent high-end watch industry. BNB Concept was responsible for the design and manufacture of a number of ultra complex (and expensive) watch movements for many watch brands. For example, its seems as though most of the tourbillon movements that aren't in-house made by a brand are sourced from BNB Concept. They even began their own exclusive watch brand with the Confrerie Horlogere. Founder Mathias Buttet really changed the watch industry over the last few years, and BNB Concept is, and has, been in very high demand. Now that is all over. So what happened?

Unpaid bills. Literally millions of them. BNB Concept has no cash. Problems arise not only in account payables, but account recieveables. While BNB Concept was doing great on paper. No one was paying them. With dozens on customers who haven't paid, BNB Concept has an utterly insufficient cash flow. It looks as it is another victim of the hurting luxury watch world. Because BNB Concept's customers could not pay it, BNB Concept itself had not enough cash to stay in business. Reports all suggest an extremely expensive overhead. With lots of highly trained labor, high-tech facilities, and not to mention lots of expensive machinery, BNB Concept was underwater before it knew what hit it.

The official announcement of their bankruptcy is expected to come soon. This will likely mean that the company will be closing, as no one wants to buy them and end up trying to collect from customers or paying all the bills. Though to be honest it isn't 100% clear what they will do. Hopefully the "talent" will be transferred elsewhere. While the news is sad for lovers of high-end complex independent watch brands, it is sadder for the watch industry as a whole. Consider it a major step back in giving independents a chance to assert their innovative designs without having to spend years themselves designing and making movements.

Via Business Montres.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: bankruptcy, bnb concept, BnbConcept, close, mathias buttet, MathiasButtet, movement, swiss, watch

Magellan 1521 Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

You can't discuss the interesting Swiss Magellan 1521 watch without the requisite mention of it giving you the "whole world on your wrist." Well, half the world to be exact. The 1521 is split up into two versions. The NH (northern hemisphere) and the very limited SH (southern hemisphere) that has been all sold out. You'll probably be more interested in the NH anyway. Essentially you have a classically mapped half globe surrounded by a ring of mother-of-pearl, with map indicators printed on the chapter ring. The entire 43mm wide watch is covered in a beautiful bubble of sapphire crystal. The case is in steel, but there are also 18k yellow gold versions available. The seamless look has no lugs and the crown is integrated into the case. Very art deco streamlined. The rear of the watch has additional map imagery via tasteful engravings.

The watch has a modified Swiss ETA 2893 automatic movement. Magellan needed to create tiny tubes to raise the base of the watch hands. All four hands start at the top of the globe and wrap around it. The GMT has is tipped with a mirror polished sun, and can be used to indicate the relative position of the sun over the Earth. There is lume applied on the hour and minute hands will addition lume dots are placed on the outside chapter ring of the dial. This version of the 1521 watch has a supple honey brown ostrich strap with a steel butterfly deployment strap (that has perlage polish applied to it). This amazingly unique timepiece comes with an outstanding level of finish (the mirror polish all over the watch is so impressive), while the price is reasonable when compared to other similar unique Swiss watches at $5,600.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: 1521, globe, magellan, nh, review, swiss, watch

Thomas Prescher Tempusvivendi Qatar Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

High-end independent luxury watch maker Thomas Prescher presents a new creation from his Tempus Vivendi collection. Right out of his workshop in Switzerland comes the Qatar watch, a timepiece dedicated to the nation of Qatar.

The origins of the Tempusvivendi collection, with their double retrograde hands stems back to the 19th century - seen on only the most luxurious and decorated for clocks and pocket watches. The concept allows for a striking and artistic way of telling the time and providing space for the watch makers to apply imagery to the watch face.

The all gold 39mm wide watch case features an specially made automatic mechanical movement that has been ornately decorated all over. Visible through the sapphire crystal caseback, the automatic rotor is engraved and highly personalized, while the movement itself features hours of traditional style engraving work. Each gold surface is hand engraved as well. The watch is attached to a hand-sewn alligator strap.

Time is read by observing the position of the tips of the two Arab style swords as they move along the indicators. Each sword is individually connected to the movement at the bottom and overall each over and they move down. If you prefer to look at the time as an artistic statement, you can press a pusher located in the crown and the hands will jump back to their "natural" position (as seen in the image). Pressing the pusher again will give you a view of the time once more. The image on the dial is hand engraved on gold and shows an Arabic coat of arms with a sail ship in water, and an island with two palm trees. The timepiece is of the highest craftsmanship quality for dedicated watch lovers of the Qatar region who will no doubt be enchanted by the timepiece as an instrument, and as an honor to their country.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Gallery: Thomas Prescher Tempus Vivendi Qatar Watch

Tags: qatar, swiss, tempus vivendi, TempusVivendi, thomas prescher, ThomasPrescher, watch

Volna Typhoon Siberia SHCI Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Volna is a luxury watch brand with an interesting slogan - "Russian Heritage Swiss Made." As a luxury watch maker their theme is giant paradox as the Swiss concept of luxury and Soviet Russia are concepts that clash. But ignore that little issue for a moment and you have a unique design niche for a luxury watch maker. In the red tinted vision of old Soviet era military technology, is a brand that celebrates the look and feel of that style of military nationality. In a country where often times the military elite got paid in medals versus money, their military equipment at least needed to have an impressive look and feel.

Volna watches are all about attempting to rethink and recreate that image. The brand's newest watch is the Typhoon Siberia SHCI - a cool if not gimmicky means of adding something fun to the luxury sports chronograph watch segment. The name of the watch sounds like a foreign translation of a Hollywood action movie that might be called "Siberian Storm" - that somehow ends up "Typhoon Siberia." This new model is all in a very good type of grade 5 (G5) titanium and has a unique system that Volna has developed. Strap is rubber.

An irony of many chronograph diving watches is that operating the chronograph too deep underwater will damage the watch by letting water in. So Volna has developed a "Security Hand Chronograph Indicator" (SHCI) that displays a message on the dial of whether or not the chronograph is locked or unlocked for use. Locking it is done vial a turning lever located on the crown.

The watch case is 46.5mm wide and water resistant to 300 meters. There is a propeller engraved into the caseback and the crown. The dial is in black with decorative satin finished ruthenium plates and either red or black on black numerals and hands. Inside the watch is a Swiss Automatic movement that is likely a modified ETA. There are two versions of the watch (red on black or black on black dials), with limited editions of 125 pieces each. Not too sure about price, but it is over $10,000 per watch.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: luxury, Russia, SCHI, Soviet, Swiss, Typhoon Siberia, TyphoonSiberia, Volna, watch

Edmond Swiss Watches

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Newer brand on the block is Edmond watches, not yet widely in the US but are available. The Swiss watch brand looks like a futuristic cousin of Panerai, and mostly shares their dimensions by having nicely sized 44mm wide steel watch cases that are also available with black or gold PVD finishes. The complex construction of the cases lend themselves well to the overall style of the brand - making for good looking masculine watches that display that sense of Swiss watch design refinement hard to find in the rest of the world. There are a number of models, but each currently shares the signature case design. It also has a special "Lock-ED" lever over the clasp to secure it similar to what you find in Panerai. With the lever locked the watches have 200 meters of water resistance. Crystals on the top and rear of the watch are sapphire.

The pictured model is the Cap Horn in gold PVD and a technical looking, though pleasurable to read face. The bezel is in black PVD with goldtone screws. The overall feel of the watch is a sporty delight that is created by the cohesive rugged character of the watch that seems to borrow from a number of popular watch designs out there (while still being extremely unique in its own right). Movements in the watches are Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatics. Edmond watches are a cool newcomer that certainly deserve some wrist time. The pictured watch is priced reasonably at about $1,900.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: cap horn, CapHorn, Edmond, swiss, timepiece, watch, watch of the day, WatchOfTheDay

Martin Braun Watches Go Independent

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Martin Braun was until recently part of the struggling Franck Muller watch group. The Mr. Braun, the man behind the brand has recently left the Franck Muller group to set out on his own. It is unclear from a legal perspective whether or not Franck Muller has released the rights to the "Martin Braun" brand name or the watch designs. Thus, it is possible that Martin will have to start anew, with a totally new line and possibly a new name.

Talented and spirited, Mr. Braun is working on setting up shop outside of Lucerne. He indicates that a brand new line of watch will be coming in the spring or summer of 2010. He is well known for designing attractive and complex watches with his own unique charm and classic spirit to them. See here is one of the Hyperion models. It is nice to see that he is taking it upon himself to carry his skills and business acumen to the next level by independently taking charge and building up his business once again. I'll keep a look out for his new watch models.

Via World Tempus (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: Fanck Muller, FanckMuller, Martin Braun, MartinBraun, Swiss, watch

Yvan Arpa & The Black Belt Luxury Watch (For Black Belts Only)

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

Wacky, wild, and arguably a genius, Yvan Arpa is at it again with another interesting watch. He is last known for his role at the helm of Romain Jerome. He turned the small company that was loosing money, into a money attracting phenomenon with his Titanic DNA and Moon Dust DNA watches. Then recently he was abruptly fired by the Romain Jerome board. The board didn't like his unpredictable, energetic, and less than conservative personality, so they ousted him. The results of a recent court case in Switzerland brought by Arpa against Romain Jerome had Apra victorious. I am amazed that a case was resolved so quickly after he was terminated, and I wonder how much he will get in damages. Really Romain Jerome was foolish to fire the man that literally was the source of success for the company.

Thus, Arpa had the last laugh and "kicked the board in the behind." Which is quite coincidentally, another of Apra's passions - marital arts. He is a well known Bushido fighter, with a black belt. This fact may help relieve his strong personality (or add to it). Well, in conjunction with a few others, Yvan Arpa has combined his love of martial arts and watch making into a new product called the Black Belt watch.

The idea is interesting, and as crazy as Arpa is known to be. A special luxury watch that is only sold to people with documentable black belts from any style of martial arts. Basically, to purchase the watch you'll need to send them your black belt award certificate. Only then will you have the pleasure of spending 3,000 Swiss Francs to get one of the watches. Given Yvan's track record, the price isn't half bad.

The Black Belt watch itself is made completely in Switzerland and has an automatic mechanical movement, rose gold case back engraved with "For Black Belt Only" and is all dark with five shades of black all over the case. The black comes mostly from PVD coated steel done in a satin finish while the strap is a combination of specially textured rubber and waterproof calf leather. The look of the strap is meant to appear like the fabric of a kimono. Then you have the dial and hands. You can see the black belt image and text on the dial, with the hands that are meant to resemble the shinai wooden swords that are used for practice fighting. Lastly, you have the sandblasted steel bezel with Japanese Kanji characters on it.

Overall the look of the watch is silly and kind of cool at the same time. It communicates with our love of exclusivity and karate fighting at the same time. Hard to predict how many certified black belts out there will go for the watch, but what better way to communicate to people that they shouldn't mess with you. Plus, the price of 3,000 Swiss Francs makes it more or less accessible to a wider array of people than at least $25,000 Titanic DNA watches that Mr. Arpa was last working on. Oh, and a little bit of each watch sold will be donated to the "No Difference" foundation, whose goal it is to help handicap people participate in martial arts (voluntarily that is).The watch is currently available for pre-order.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: black belt, BlackBelt, karate, matrial arts, MatrialArts, swiss, watch, yvan arpa, YvanArpa

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